


Stay Awake

by Sunshine_3



Series: Everybody is Something [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst (just a little?), Harley Keener Needs a Hug, Harley is big sad, Phone Call, Swearing is a thing be warned, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony is a big softie no one can tell me otherwise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:54:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23621143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunshine_3/pseuds/Sunshine_3
Summary: Harley Keener was tired.Tired of living in Middle-of-Fucking-Nowhere, Tennessee, a too small town filled with too small people who had too small minds and too small dreams.--------Harley is feeling the weight of simply existing in a place where he feels like he doesn't belong. Luckily, Tony is there to listen, and offer him a chance at reason to keep trying.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Tony Stark
Series: Everybody is Something [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1700296
Kudos: 47





	Stay Awake

**Author's Note:**

> I've been reading Harley and Peter as besties fics again and wanted to write one about the two of them! This fic is just an intro to the story (not sure if I'm going to do it as a series or one fic, haven't decided yet.) Hope you guys enjoy! 
> 
> P.S This fic is 100% me projecting about being tired, sick of trying to get school work done, and feeling very much dead inside. I hope anyone reading this is feeling better than I am, sorry if that's depressing. If you need a word of encouragement or to talk, I have a discord (ask and I'll send it to you) or we can chat in the comments. Please stay safe out there guys, I know the world is a scary place atm. Luv y'all <3

Harley Keener was tired. 

Tired of taking care of his sister when his mom was at work, spending long, hard hours at the diner. 

Tired of sleeping through dragging classes in school, already miles ahead of the curriculum.

Tired of living in Middle-of-Fucking-Nowhere, Tennessee, a too small town filled with too small people who had too small minds and too small dreams. 

Just… 

Tired. 

So, after getting sent to the principal’s office for sleeping through Algebra II with Trig for the third day in a row (he has a 100.28% in that class, sue him) and after trudging home after time _not_ well spent in detention, he was just about ready to take off running in the direction of the nearest town with a population of at least 5,000 people. 

Harley dragged himself up the walk, yanking open the door to the house with just a little too much enthusiasm. He darted over to the kitchen, snatching a box of crackers from the cupboard and making an easy exit out the back door, headed straight toward his garage. (Harley felt justified in calling it _his_. After all, he spent more time in the place than he did in his own house.) 

The door banged shut behind him as Harley dumped his bag on the floor, weaving his way around scraps of metal and his work table to flop onto the worn couch in the middle of the room. He threw an arm over his eyes, the rest of his limbs dangling off the sofa in a lanky mess, no energy left to reign them back in. 

Harley had no idea how long he lay there, stuck inside his own head, thoughts ricocheting between _God I am so_ sick _of this shit, Can I just go back to sleep for like, forever,_ and _Is it possible to reach the cracker box from here without getting up?_

It wasn’t until his phone rang, disturbing the quiet and interrupting the gloomy atmosphere did the glazed look that had come over Harley’s eyes clear, and he snapped out of it. With a groan, he shifted, digging around in the couch cushions until he located his phone. Harley glanced at the caller ID and a small smile grew on his face before he quickly accepted the call.

“Hey old man,” he said groggily, still a bit out of it. “What prompted a pain in the ass like you to interrupt my very important business?”

“Cut the shit Keener, we both know you weren’t doing anything, or you wouldn’t have picked up so quick.”

Harley cursed under his breath, good naturedly of course. The man wasn’t wrong. “While that may be true, Stark, there’s no need to call me out like that.”

The man on the other side of the line chuckled. “Of course there was a need, kid, gotta keep you in your place. Just checking in on you. Glad I did too, because despite your snark, you cheeky little shit, you sound like you just spent some time stuck in your head again. What’s up?”

Harley sighed, sinking even lower into the cushions of the couch. “I don’t know Tony, I just- I’m so sick of this! Everyday I spend here I just feel more trapped, you know? I just- I need to get _out_. I mean school is a waste of my time, but on the other hand with summer coming up in nearly two weeks I’ll have nothing to do with myself.” 

His voice dropped to a whisper, cracking, a perfect reflection of how broken up he felt inside. “I- I can’t handle it anymore Tony. I spend half my time asleep and the other half in my head because there’s no reason for me to come out.“ Harley sighed. “I’m just so _tired_ all the time.” 

There was a thoughtful silence on the other side of the line as Tony took all this in. Harley wrapped his free arm around his middle, squeezing tightly, as if the pressure was the only thing keeping him from rolling off the couch and shattering into a hundred tiny pieces on the gritty cement floor. 

“Well, kiddo, it’ll take some planning, a whole lot of planning actually, but I may have a solution.”

Harley scoffed. “What you gonna do grandpa, send me a coloring book to keep myself busy?”

“Well since you act like a 5 year old and you asked, now I will,” Tony said, immune to Harley’s Piss Off™ attitude. “Nope. I was thinking more along the lines of flying you up here over the summer, give you something better than potatoes to work with.”

Harley sat bolt upright on the couch. “Wait- You mean flying to _New York_? The Tower? For the _whole summer?!_ ”

Tony’s smirk was nearly audible through the phone. “Sure, if you’re interested.”

He jumped to his feet, pacing with excitement. There was a gleam in his eye and a lightness in his chest that hadn’t been there for a very, very long time. (If he were a philosophical type of person, Harley would have described it as _hope_. But he wasn’t, and promptly ignored this fact in favor of grinning like a maniac instead.) “Of fucking _course_ I’m interested. Are you kidding? I’d get to spend three whole months with you in a lab, building weird shit. There’s nothing here that even compares to that!” _Except maybe Abbs_ , Harley thought to himself. _But she’ll be fine for a little while, besides, it’s not like she’ll want to spend her entire summer with her brother anyways._

“It’s settled then,” said Tony, who seemed to be pleased with himself for having successfully pulled some of the exhaustion out of Harley’s tone. “Pass it by your mom, and we’ll work out the details from there. I’ve wanted to show you around my lab for a while anyways. Plus, I’ve got an intern that I think you’ll enjoy meeting.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Harley wasn’t really listening anymore, as he was too busy thinking about the possibility of getting to leave his shithole town for an entire three months. _Three months._ He’d get to finally build the Stealth Armor, and meet Dum-E, and spend time with Tony again. 

“Alright. Do your homework, don’t do drugs- whatever, you get the point. Talk to you later, Keener.” 

“I got it,” Harley replied, rolling his eyes. 

Before Tony could hang up though, he spoke again. 

“Tony?” 

“Yeah kid?” 

“Thank you.” Harley spoke softly, trying not to be emotional because this wasn’t really a reason to cry. 

He couldn’t see it, but he knew there was a grossly soft smile on Stark’s face. “No problem.” 

Harley hung up, stuffing his phone into the pocket of his jeans. Face tilted toward the ceiling, a laugh bubbled up from within his chest, bursting into the air. He ran his fingers through his hair and fell back onto the couch, still laughing, almost sounding crazy in the small, cluttered space of the garage. 

He stared at the ceiling, smiling stupidly for absolutely no reason. 

Finally, he had found a reason to stay awake. 

**Author's Note:**

> Soon, Harley will meet Peter! The one thing quarantine is good for is helping me procrastinate on my homework by doing _literally anything_ else (like writing this in one go, for example). Please leave feedback so I know how to improve! Thanks for reading :)


End file.
